I apologize for the extended time since my last posting ... my long bout with the flu, combined with the busy bonspiel season, has kept me very busy in the office. Now, however, it is definitely time to get things back on track!
Be prepared ... there are a fair number of important items that I have to get posted ... please take the time to read them.
GO CANADA GO!!!!!
Hi My name is Ed Ferguson. I am a member of the K W Granite Club in Waterloo, ON. I am a stick curler and have been for 4 years. Do you have many stick curlers in your club? It has extended my curling years because I have a hip problem. My team is competing this year in the Ontario Stick Championships at the Unionville Curling club in Toronto. We need more people to take up the stick rather than drop out of curling. Let me know what your club is doing now? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read through the blog, Ed. It is always nice to touch base with other curlers, especially those using the stick, in Ontario. I am glad that delivery aids have allowed you to continue in the sport. In the past, too often curlers would "retire" when faced with mobility/flexibility issues ... let's face it, this sport, as played from the hack, can eat up a healthy knee/back. Thankfully, the stick has made it much easier to continue forward in the great sport of curling!
ReplyDelete4 years ago, it became obvious to me that most clubs, including RKCC, were relying too heavily on an aging demographic for their membership numbers: the average member was getting older. The long term goal is to find and attract new curlers to the sport (promote junior curling - establish entry level fun leagues for the working family demographic), but the stick allows us to keep members interested longer ... in fact, I actually promote the stick for use with all of our new curler instructional clinics. The slide is a skill that can be developed, so I prefer to let the curler learn about turns, weight, rules, etc., before trying to slide balanced on one foot. If we can get them interested in the game, they can learn the slide later. In the club, I founded one of the first stick leagues in our area. The players play a modified 6-end game, with two players and six stones - gets done in less than an hour, and allows curlers to play more than one game a day, since there is very little sweeping in this game. We are developing, what we expect to be, provincial level players and hope to send them to you in the future, as competition! Please feel free to stop by the club anytime you are in the area ... stick league takes place on Wednesdays @ 10:15am, 11:15am and 12:15pm. Good Curling!!!